Abstract

The board goal of this work is to understand and describe the neural mechanisms underlying visual memory. To do this the activity of single neurons in the cortex of the inferior temporal lobe will be monitored while a monkey is performing a visual memory task. A particular opportunity is provided by recording from the cells which form the anterior commissure. It is presently known - and important details are being actively pursued - that the anterior commissure can (by itself) transfer visual/mnemonic information between the hemispheres. Thus, the opportunity is available to sample the visual/mnemonic information as it is inescapably confined at the interhemispheric junction. The power in this arrangement is that at this stage, the entire message which allows recognition of a particular image by the other hemisphere is there. Further advantage will be taken of interhemispheric interaction to help separate storage and retrieval functions. The clinical relevance of this work is not immediate but may be no less profound for that. The contribution of this project is aimed directly at the cellular mechanisms of memory, and it would be rather surprising if a full understanding of those mechanisms did not have a major impact on the important - and increasing - health problems involving memory.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS026526-03
Application #
3412421
Study Section
Biopsychology Study Section (BPO)
Project Start
1988-07-01
Project End
1993-06-30
Budget Start
1990-07-01
Budget End
1991-06-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1990
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
University of Rochester
Department
Type
Schools of Dentistry
DUNS #
208469486
City
Rochester
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14627

  Publications

Sobotka, S; Nowicka, A; Ringo, J L (1997) Activity linked to externally cued saccades in single units recorded from hippocampal, parahippocampal, and inferotemporal areas of macaques. J Neurophysiol 78:2156-63
Sobotka, S; Ringo, J L (1997) Saccadic eye movements, even in darkness, generate event-related potentials recorded in medial sputum and medial temporal cortex. Brain Res 756:168-73
Ringo, J L (1996) Stimulus specific adaptation in inferior temporal and medial temporal cortex of the monkey. Behav Brain Res 76:191-7
Sobotka, S; Ringo, J L (1996) Mnemonic responses of single units recorded from monkey inferotemporal cortex, accessed via transcommissural versus direct pathways: a dissociation between unit activity and behavior. J Neurosci 16:4222-30
Ringo, J L (1995) Brevity of processing in a mnemonic task. J Neurophysiol 73:1712-5
Ringo, J L; Sobotka, S; Diltz, M D et al. (1994) Eye movements modulate activity in hippocampal, parahippocampal, and inferotemporal neurons. J Neurophysiol 71:1285-8
Sobotka, S; Ringo, J L (1994) Stimulus specific adaptation in excited but not in inhibited cells in inferotemporal cortex of macaque. Brain Res 646:95-9
Ringo, J L; Doty, R W; Demeter, S et al. (1994) Time is of the essence: a conjecture that hemispheric specialization arises from interhemispheric conduction delay. Cereb Cortex 4:331-43
Sobotka, S; Ringo, J L (1993) Investigation of long-term recognition and association memory in unit responses from inferotemporal cortex. Exp Brain Res 96:28-38
Ringo, J L; O'Neill, S G (1993) Indirect inputs to ventral temporal cortex of monkey: the influence of unit activity of alerting auditory input, interhemispheric subcortical visual input, reward, and the behavioral response. J Neurophysiol 70:2215-25

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